Imitation Black
by Rosery Cricket
Summary: Revenge is a dish best served cold. *WARNINGS: RAPE, pedophilia, hebephilia, ephebophilia, child abuse, sexual abuse of children, incest, badly written bullies(y), general human depravity. All of this is either shown or implied. If ANY of this is a trigger or you just can't read a story with any of the above elements DON'T CLICK THE LINK!*
1. Prologue - Fuseijou

**WARNINGS: This story includes RAPE, pedophilia, hebephilia, ephebophilia, child abuse, sexual abuse of children, incest, badly written bully(ies), and general human depravity. All of this is either shown or implied (most of the above is implied). If ANY of this is a trigger or you just can't read a story with any of the above elements PLEASE STOP READING NOW! The story itself starts out fairly light, but gets worse as it goes on. **

**This story also includes homosexuality, so if you're not comfortable reading about that, you should also stop reading. Just thought I'd put that out there.**

**I don't blame those that have already left. If you're still reading however, please... enjoy, I guess?**

The middle school of Himitsu-hen was a tiny establishment, only one story high. The bricks were a bright maroon color and the halls were clean, not yet streaked with skid marks. The cobination locks still had their numbers and the whiteboards didn't have an innumurous amount of ghostly writing. In all of the classrooms, there were deskchairs, five by five, in the hope that it would get more students as time passed.

In classroom 49, a man of thirty-one finished writting the algebraic equation he was currently putting on the whiteboard to address the class of second year middle schoolers he was teaching today. His duke blue eyes on the young teens, he recited to them the dictation he had been taught to say when an occasion such as this arose.

"You must have heard by now that there is a new student tranfering here from Aomori prefecture," he started, changing some of the words to fit the new student. "The student in question has had a rough time at his old school, so let's try to make sure that we give him a warm welcome.

"You can come in now," he called, looking at the door where a figure was siluetted in the window. Instantly all of the kids in the room turned their heads to the direction that he was looking at.

After a moments hesatation, the door opened, revealing a fourteen year old boy of a small hieght for his age with blonde hair and soft blue eyes. He was about to tell him to introduce himself when he noticed what the boy was wearing.

He had put on the standard school uniform that the girls wore; a sailor-styled shirt with a peach and dark red color scheme, with long, puffy sleeves and thick cuffs on the ends; a deep red, pleated skirt that went down to mid-thigh, dark brown loafers, and white socks that stopped below the knee. He had wild bangs and had put his hair up in a very small ponytail. To top it all off, he was carrying the brown and black, suitcase-like schoolbag like some of the girls usually did. If he hadn't read the teen's file, he would've easily mistaken the small boy for any of the other girls that were in this tiny school.

_He's a crossdresser?_ Kaito thought._ That wasn't in the profile. Then again, I doubt they put everything in there._

Belatedly, he noticed that two of the guys in the class were snickering and another one was moaning.

"Great," muttered a silver-haired boy near the back window, just loud enough for everyone to hear. "Just when I thought we'd get another guy in this class."

Looking at the new student out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed that the boy's cheeks had turned a shade of pink.

_Poor kid_, he thought, _first week of school and already he's being laughed at._

Clearing his throat, he adressed the class, picking his words carefully.

"Everyone calm down," he said with fegiened patiance, "It's not like this is the first time you've seen someone wear clothes of the opposite gender."

"Oh yeah," said the silver-haired, ruby eyed boy who had uttered the statement of discontent. He was sitting in the last row to the far right. Chair tilted back, feet on the desk, he was the stereotypical trouble maker that one usually sees in poorly done highschool dramas. He had long ago given up on trying to get the boy to listen to anything he had to say. "What happened to that tomboy teacher anyway?" he asked to no one in particular.

A blueish-black haired girl with a scattering of freckels across her cheeks, turned to face the silver-haired boy. "Didn't she get fired after the princable found out she was stealing money from lunch accounts?" she inquired.

A green-haired boy sitting next to the freckled girl took up the conversation. "Really?" he stated incredulously. "I heard that she quit because all the boys in her class were staring at her boobs instead of paying attention."

Another girl with chocolate-brown hair and maroon glasses pipped up saying, "I thought she got sacked because she smoked on school property."

A girl with dirty-blonde hair with navy blue eyes offered, "No, I'm pretty sure she was fired because of some complaints of harrasement from the kids in her class."

A boy with tar-black hair sitting at the desk closest to the door said, "One of the rumors _I_ heard was that she was caught snogging with one of her female students and was sent to jail."

A girl with bleach-blonde hair, sitting a few seats behind the boy to his left, shook her head. "You're imagining things, Gunichi-san," she scolded, "That was three years ago. Besides, she quit because she wanted to take up a job in accounting."

"You seem to know that with absolute certainty, Umida-san," said the silver-haired boy, with a smirk across his face. "Maybe you're the one she was caught deep-throating with."

"I don't swing that way!" she cried out in alarm, a stain of pink across her cheeks. "Besides," she added, "I wasn't even in this building three years ago. So there, Honne-san!" she ended, using one of her pointer fingers to pull down her lower left eyelid and stuck out her tougnue at the silver-haired boy before propmtly crossing her arms in a huff, cheeks still pink.

"Real mature," the boy said under his breathe, before looking out the window with a look of boredom on his face.

Kaito had let all this happen without comment. He had learned from past conversations that it was best to let these conversations run their course without interuption, otherwise he would be completely engrossed in the chatter too.

Clearing his throat again, he gestured to the boy standing next to him who had waited paitently throughout this whole exchange.

"Either way, please make Kagamine Len-san feel welcomed, and try to make his first few weeks here at least pleasent," he stated. Glancing at the boy out of the corner of his eyes, he was relieved to see the blush gone. "You can sit next to French-san," he said, pointing to the empty seat to the girl-with-the-glasses left side.

The boy walked to the seat and, once he had sat down, he returned to teaching the lesson.

**A/N: I couldn't get this stupid thing out of my head. And for some reason I thought I would share it with other people.**

**...**

**I feel like my brain wants to screw me over. **

**In any case, I've decided to make this somewhat informative by having the chapter names be the romaized version of the japanese name. (And yes, I made sure that the titles relate to the content of the chapters.) In the next chapter I'll reveal the title name of the previous chapter. Hopefully, this will help give a little bit of brevity to people who need it. **

**See you next week.**


	2. Chapter 1 - Nazo

**I don't think there are any warnings for this chapter, but it's best to be on guard.**

_Six days had passed since the newcomers had arrived. The sudents had tried to get to know Len and his twin sister, Rin. However, they found the kids unapprochable, wrote them off as egoists, and decided to let them intergrate on their own terms._

The school's bell rang clear and loud through the halls, signaling the end of another day. After reminding his students of the assignment due next class, he dissmissed them.

While they filtered out of the room, he erased the chalkboard to the best of his abilities. Finishing that, he sat down at his desk to start looking through and sort some of the papers that had accumalted during the period. It took him a few seconds to realize that there was still someone in the room with him. Looking up to see who it was, he was startled to find that the Kagamine boy was standing only a few inches away from his desk.

"Do you need help with something?" he inquired. He wasn't surprised that the boy needed it. There was always the possibility that the previous school he went to was a few steps behind the usual cirrculm here. He remembered having one student so far behind that it took her a week to catch up till she was on the same level as the other kids.

"The textbook I have isn't the correct one," the boy replied, taking a bulky book from his schoolbag and placing it on the desk.

He wasn't expecting that. Didn't the school give him the necessary texts before he started? He leafed through it and, sure enough, the lessons and chapters were nothing similar to what he was teaching. Closing the book, he looked at the title. _Beginning Algebra_. He was teaching geometry.

"You must've been extremely confused," said Kaito, raising out of his seat and walking to the back of the classroom. He opened the small cabinent door and took one of the textbooks from a tiny pile of them. He was walking back to where Len was still standing in front of the desk, when he noticed the way the setting sun hit Len's figure. For a moment, he thought Len really did resemble a girl. Mentally shaking his head, he continued to walk towards him and stopped in front of him.

Len stared up at him as he stood there, returning his gaze. Was it possible for eyes to be _that _blue? He suddenly realized a few seconds had passed with both of them standing like this. _Dammit, Kaito!_ he shouted to himself. _What's gotten into you lately?!_

"Didn't you get one from the school before the start of term?" he asked. At this, Len looked down at his feet and started squirming, almost as though he didn't want to answer.

"I-I forgot it at h-home, and when I asked another t-teacher working here if I could borrow one, she just gave me a mean glare." Len looked back up to stare into Kaito's eyes and added sheepishly, "I got scared and rushed off to my first class."

_Must've been Himeno-san_, Kaito thought. _She's not very kind in the morning, to put it lightly._

"Well, the next time you find yourself without the text, you could go to the library," offered Kaito, who noticed Len stop his squerming and twitched slightly at the word 'library'. "There's plenty of extra textbooks in there of every subject taught here."

"I-I'll keep that in mind, Shion-sensei," said Len. Kaito couldn't help but think of Len's tone as being dismissive.

With a start, he realized that he had still been holding the textbook this entire time. He held it out for Len who grabbed it, then put it in the school bag he still carried. Len walked towards the door and as his left hand was about to open the door, Kaito felt something inside him, almost like a tugging motion, make him say these next words.

"Kagamine-kun, wait!" he cried. At this, Len stopped, then turned around to meet Kaito's eyes once again. They stayed like that, locked in a trance when the same tugging motion let the next sentance fall out.

"If you need anything, I'll be here for you," he said in a gentle tone. Internally, he was screaming at himself for sounding like a teacher that was hitting on one of his students.

For some reason, this didn't seem to bother Len, at least, not from what he could tell just by looking at the surface. His cheeks turned pink before he stamered out a 'thank you', and left.

Once the door was shut, all Kaito could think of doing was panicing about whether or not he would be able to keep his job after this.

"Is something wrong, Kaito?" asked the purple-haired man sitting opposite of him.

They were both in a club a few blocks out of town. It was the only one they knew that was noisy enough so they wouldn't be overheard; loud, pounding pop music blasted out of the overhead speakers; lots of people chatting and some even dancing. It was a wonder they could even hear each other.

"Earth to Kaito..." trailed off the man, waving a large hand in front of his face.

He blinked his eyes a few times, slowly coming out of his thoughts.

Sighing, he said, "Sorry, Gakupo. I was thinking about the new student that just moved into town." He finished off the glass of beer that he had been tracing the rim of for the past few minutes.

"That Kagamine kid?" Gakupo replied, crossing his arms. He was wearing a business suit with a black-and-gray colorscheme. To his right lay a large briefcase that seemed to be struggling to stay closed. His thin dark purple eyebrows lifted into a questioning look, as if to ask 'Why would you be thinking about _him_?'.

"Yes, unfortunately," Kaito said, with a look of reproch. He wasn't surprised that his friend and everybody else in town knew about the new arrivals. It was a small town, where everyone knew everyone else, and newcomers were a cause of much curiosity.

"Why, what did he do?" asked Gakupo with a chuckle, "Did he draw dicks on the chalkboard while you were out of the room?"

"At least _that_ would've made some modicome of sense," he said. Then he proceeded to tell his friend about what had happened during the last period class and shortly thereafter.

As his story unfolded, Gakupo's facial expresion didn't change. Once he was finished, the man's face changed to one of bewelderment and confusion.

A short pause later, Gakupo spoke up. "If I didn't know any better, Kaito, I'd say he did that on purpose," he offered, before talking a large sip of his own drink.

He starred at Gakupo for a few seconds before saying anything. "I fail to see how forgeting a textbook would make you think that it had been done on purpose."

"Think about it for a moment," Gakupo said, putting down his glass. "First, he comes to class wearing the schoolgirl's uniform instead of the boy's-"

"Which he might've done because he's a transgender, crossdresser, or trying something different-" interupted Kaito.

"Second," continued Gakupo, as though he didn't hear him, "he knew teachers would go easy on the new kid. Being the new kid anyway makes it easier to pity him."

"Ok, you've got a point there," inputted Kaito.

"Lastly, he most likely made up the excuse of getting too scared so you would pity him even more," he finished with an air of finalization.

"I don't know, Gakupo," he said, rubbing his temples. His head was starting to hurt. "Why would a fourteen year old boy go to such lengths just to get attention from me?" _As if the outfit alone wasn't enough_, he added in his mind.

Both sat in thought until Gakupo tried to stiffle a chuckle.

"What?" he asked with an air of curiousity.

"Nothing, nothing," Gakupo said, taking a gulp of his beer, draining the rest of it. He stood up then said, "Want to dance? Might as well since we're here."

"No thanks," Kaito repiled in a flat tone. He had an idea as to what Gakupo was planning and he wanted no part in it.

The lawyer just shrugged then walked onto the dance floor to join the other couples, while Kaito just thought about the unplesentness of going home.

**A/N: Please ignore any misspellings in this chapter and the previous one. For some reason, won't let me edit my stories, at least not in a way to make the changes visiable.**

**The prologue's title is Anomaly. **


	3. Chapter 2 - Ihyou

**WARNINGS: The poorly written bully strikes (in more ways than one). I think that's about it.**

"Rise... bow," stated Kaito, the class following the instructions. As they sat back down and Kaito took attendance, rain pelted the windows. While he called out their names, he let his mind go into autopilot, letting his thoughts drift off to other matters.

Almost a month had passed since 'The Incident', as he liked to put it. Unfortunately, it hadn't been the last. Sometimes, when there was a lull in his teaching and he had the students work on some problems, he would find his gaze end up on the blond. It would rest there, soaking in the sight, before he mentally slapped himself on the head and returned to grading papers, making answer sheets, or other such paperwork that now seemed pointless. When passing papers out, maybe they would accidentally graze each others fingers. Each time they shared some form of intimate moment, he would feel an emotion he thought had died a long time ago rear its ugly head.

Inwardly cringing at the memories, he went on with the class. The lesson went on uneventfully, but when there was only half an hour left, he heard a knock. Without waiting for an answer, the person opened the door, revealing themselves to be another teacher; a tall, brunet man.

"Forgive the intrusion, Shion-san, but you have a call waiting in the teachers lounge," he announced.

Addressing the class, Kaito told them to use this time to start their homework for tonight. Thanking the man, Kaito left the class and walked to the lounge. Sighing, he thought, _I forgot it was __that__ time of the week._

The lounge was a branch of the front office, furnished with a stout couch, a coffee machine, a wastebasket, a small refrigerator, a telephone attached to the wall, and a shelf with a sink in it. He walked over to the opposite side of the room and took the receiver in his hands. Instantly, he heard an impatient voice muttering 'pick up, pick up' over and over again and didn't even need to ask who it was to identify the person on the other end.

"Hello, Mom," he said, trying to sound enthusiastic.

"What's going on?!" his mother burst out.

"You tell me," he replied, already feeling his patience waning. He wondered why he even bothered talking to her in person when a recording would interact more than he did.

"Why haven't you called your momma recently?!" came the predictable response. "Ever since the– the divorce, all you've been doing is hanging around that– that _slut_ you call a wife–"

"The same slut you made me marry," he interrupted.

"Don't interrupt me!" she shrieked. "You've been hanging around _her_ and not the number one women in your life!? I didn't raise you to be like this! What have I done to deserve this!?" she finished, her sobbing audible through the wires.

_A pain in my ass, a complete bitch to my wife, someone who __desperately__ needs help, but is too proud to get it... take your pick_, he rallied off in his head. Out loud he said, "Nothing, mom. I'm sorry, but I have to get back to teaching." With that, he hung up, not even bothering with the next few seconds of her wailing and whining.

Returning to the classroom, he found the man standing outside the door, his left foot tapping the tiled floor. Neighboring classroom doors were open, kids had their heads poking out, whispers drifted across the hallway. A sinking feeling started to form in his chest.

"Something wrong, Hiyama-sama?" he asked once he had neared the room.

Kiyoteru nodded then replied, "I don't know how you deal with Honne-san on a daily basis."

The sinking feeling only got stronger. "What did he do?" _This time_, he added.

Kiyoteru looked about the hall guilty, tried to say something, but ended up gesturing towards the door. With a sense of foreboding, he opened the door and stepped in.

The place was a wreck.

The desks at the back of the chair were in disarray, papers dotted the floor like gigantic snowflakes, and one of the windows had been shattered, allowing some of the rain to come in. The freckled girl was crying while holding her nose and the dirty-blonde was comforting the sobbing teen. Three of the boys were missing and the tar-black haired boy was currently trying to get the place back to its original state, getting help from the chocolate-brown-haired girl. The bleach-blonde was sitting on a desk, ripping up some paper she had gotten a hold of, quietly muttering to herself.

After taking all this in, he shook himself from his shock, then asked what had happened. At this, the bleach-blonde burst out in anger, as if she couldn't hold back any longer.

"It's that fucking bastard's fault! We were just sitting here, minding our own business when that testosterone-filled dickbag randomly started using Kagamine-kun as a fucking punching bag!" She briefly paused to point at the freckled girl, then continued on her rant. "When Yumi-chan tried to help him, the bastard just hit her square in the nose, then used his own fucking chair as a sledgehammer! After all of that, Kagamine-kun ran out of the classroom! Why hasn't that douchebag been expelled yet?!" she cried, somewhat out of breathe.

Stifling an exasperated sigh, Kaito replied, "Calm down. While what happened was unfortunate-"

"Unfortunate!?" the dirty-blonde said, her tone incredulous. "Yumi-chan is currently bleeding her brains out because some guy had a temper tantrum!"

Collecting his rapidly dwindling patience, he continued, "After this event, I'm sure Honne-san will be expelled, but that's not within my jurisdiction. In the mean time, Furuda-san, take Junimado-san to the nurse. Gunichi-san and French-san, could you find the janitor so that he could patch up the broken window? And, thank you for cleaning this up. Umida-san, if you will follow me into the hall?" The dirty-blonde haired girl and the freckled girl walked out of the room and down the hallway. The bleach-blonde and Kaito stepped outside of the classroom. With relief, he noticed that Kiyoteru had left and the curious students had been called back to attention.

Before he could even say a word, the blonde blurted out an apology for her language. Understanding her frustration, he replied by telling her not to worry about her outburst. "In any case, do you know where Honne-san, Junimado-kun, and Kagamine-kun went?" he added.

"I'm not sure where Honne-san is," Junko said. "He just jumped out the window and ran. Yuki-kun ran after him. I'm not sure about Kagamine-san, though."

* * *

>"Thank you." he said, "If you could give an account of the events to the principal, that would be much appreciated." With that, he went off to find Len.<p><p>

Running into the closest men's room, he called out for Len, trying to keep calm. Scanning the room, he walked towards the far wall. He heard the sound of whimpering, of someone trying and failing to keep their crying from being heard. Noticing that the door to the last stall was ajar, he opened it all the way to notice Len. In the far left corner, he was curled up, his head against his knees, arms wrapped around his legs. His frail frame was shaking, and bruises were starting to form on his arms.

Walking into the stall, Kaito leaned down next to him and said Len's name again, his voice gentle. At the sound of it, Len's head shot up and his sky blue eyes focused themselves on his own. There were tear streaks staining his cheeks and Kaito had to stifle the urge to reach out and brush the blond's tears away. _Dammit!_ he thought, _What's gotten into me recently?!_ The urge only got stronger when Len whispered 'senpai' under his breath. For some reason, that was all he said and an uncomfortable silence descended upon the two.

A moment later, Kaito decided that sitting on the cold tiles of a public bathroom wasn't going to help Len speak up, so he rose to his feet and offered a hand to the young man. Len grabbed it and Kaito helped him stand up. They walked out of the restroom and into a nearby classroom that was empty during the afternoon. The chairs and desks hadn't been pushed to the window side of the room yet, so Len sat behind the nearest desk to the doors and Kaito took a chair from the desk next to it.

"You wanted to say something?" Kaito said. He hoped the change of location made the teen more apt to talk about whatever was on his mind.

This seemed to work, as Len started to talk. He gave a similar account that Junko gave, his head bowed during the whole account. When he finished, he looked up into Kaito's eyes and asked, "Does Honne-san not like people like me?", his voice wavering a bit.

_He sounds absolutely pitiful_, Kaito thought. "I'm not sure about that." he responded as best as he could. "Honne-san does come from a –how do I put this?– a rather eccentric family, to be polite. He also has an ongoing struggle to suppress his temper. Though, I don't think I have to tell you that," he finished with a small smile, trying to lift the boy's spirit, if only a little.

Whether or not it worked or if the blond was just humoring him, Len seemed to smile and say "you've got that right" in a quiet voice.

There was a short pause when Tohru, the tar-black haired boy, opened up the door and said that Kaito and Len were missed. They both stood up and Kaito said that since the day was almost over, class was dismissed and would Gunichi-san please tell the others? Tohru consented, then left. Kaito put back the chair he was borrowing in its correct place, then he and Len walked out into the hallway. With relief, Kaito saw that the previously opened classroom doors were shut and the students who had been leering most likely called back to attention.

They walked in silence for a moment before Len said Kaito's name tentatively.

"Yes, Kagamine-kun?" he responded, turning around and looking down at the boy. Len's cheeks were turning pink and he was playing with the hem of his shirt.

"I.. Is it alright if... if you drive me home?" he eventually blurted out in a whisper, as if he was afraid to even ask.

Caught by surprise, Kaito asked why. "I forgot my umbrella at home," Len said, looking at everything except Kaito, "and Rin's class won't be dismissed for another twenty minutes or so."

"Can't you wait?" Kaito replied and immediately he regretted his choice of words. The teen looked down at the floor, his fingers seeming to dance with a stray piece of thread. Was he shivering a little?

Sighing under his breath, Kaito decided to backtrack. "I'm sorry if I sounded impatient. I just don't see a problem in waiting."

Len took a silent breath, then said, "If I go back in that class, the other students will ask me whether or not I'm alright or if I need to go to the nurse. I'm just not ready for that kind of attention yet."

_I wouldn't be too eager to go back, either_, Kaito thought, unpleasant memories resurfacing. Pushing those back down, he said, "That's understandable. Sure, why not?" _Let's just hope no one else notices._

Immediately, a weight seemed to lift off of the blond's shoulders for his posture straightened and a small smile graced his girlish features. Kaito was taken aback for an instant. Was this really the first time he had seen the teen's smile? Gathering himself together, he and Len walked back to the classroom. The smashed window had a large piece of plastic taped over the hole which was straining under the onslaught of torrential rain. The desks and chairs were pushed under the windows. The other students had already left.

Len put his school items in his bag and Kaito put his assorted papers into a small briefcase. With their things collected they walked out of the room, Len smiling the whole time.

"This is my house," Len said, pointing to an off-white, two story, Western-like home. Kaito pulled over to the right, parking the car.

There was a short stone path to the dark wooden front door and the lawn looked like it had been cut recently. The second story had a tiny balcony jutting out above the left window. The front porch was covered and three steps lead up to it. Rain pelted the windows of the car, as the downpour turned into a thunderstorm and the wind seemed to pick up speed with each passing moment.

_One second out there and he'll instantly be drenched,_ Kaito thought, regretting the fact that he had also forgotten his umbrella. Len seemed to think the same thing, for he hadn't put his hand on the car's door handle. Instead, he was back to playing with the stray shirt string, almost as if he was contemplating something. A pause passed, then Kaito and Len said something at the same time.

"Um, you first, sensei," Len said immediately. His fingers moved faster with the string.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to wait out the storm," he offered. Not a moment after, Len shook his head and replied by saying the storm would last for a while longer. There was another uncomfortable pause before Len said he had to leave, but before he could open the door, Kaito's left hand acted on its own, rapidly moving from the steering wheel to Len's nearest wrist.

"Sh-Sh-Shion-s-sensei!" came the cry of surprise. The blond's head snapped to look at him.

_Dammit, why do his eyes have to be so blue?!_ Kaito cried in his head. "You wanted to tell me something?" he prompted, hastily letting go of Len's wrist and placing his hand back on the wheel. Len's hand returned to the string. Another uncomfortable pause passed before Len stammered out that it was nothing before hurriedly opening the door, getting out, shutting it, then running into the shelter of the house.

Kaito just sat there, watching the retreating figure in stunned silence. Sitting there in his own thoughts, he then realized that he had been idle for three minutes. Shaking himself out of his reverie, he turned the engine on then speed off to home.

"I'm home," Kaito called, removing his coat and taking off his shoes. Putting on the light blue slippers that were by the door, he walked into the living room, wondering where Luka was.

Placing his suitcase on the couch, the telephone rang. With a frustrated sigh, he took whatever patience he had left, gathered it together, walked over to the phone, and picked up the receiver. He was delighted by what he heard.

"Kaito-san, is that you?" asked a deep baritone voiced. He smiled.

"Hello, Gakupo-san," he replied, barely containing his relief.

He heard some chuckling on the other end of line then Gakupo said, "Long day?"

"Very," he replied. He then proceeded to tell Gakupo about the unexplained outburst, leaving out his and Len's car moment.

"Honne Dell was it?" came the reply after a short pause.

"Yes," he said. "I don't know why, but something just made him lose it at that point."

"Maybe he couldn't take the unnecessarily hard homework you gave him?" Gakupo asked. He thought he could hear the smirk through the lines.

"Gakupo-san, this isn't the time to make jokes." he reprimanded.

"Sorry, sorry, just trying to lighten the mood," the baronet said dismissively. "What do you think set him off?"

"Knowing him, probably a slight tap on the shoulder," he said, trying to keep himself from sounding exasperated.

"Now, look at who's making jokes," Gakupo teased.

"I'm being serious," he replied, feeling a little miffed.

"Sure, sure," Gakupo said. It sounded as though his mind was on something. "Listen, Kaito, I can't meet tonight at our usual place."

"That's alright," Kaito replied, another burst of relief following through him. He needed a night off. "I'm not in the mood for earsplitting noise and going hoarse for a few hours afterwords."

"Bye, then," Gakupo said then hug up abruptly.

Blinking a few times from surprise, Kaito put the receiver back in its holder. _Did I say something I shouldn't have?_ he wondered. Shrugging, he picked up the suitcase and went into his study.

**A/N: I'm going to be honest, I never thought that this story would be popular. To see that it's already got 96 views (as of this writing) is kind of mindboggling. Then again, the 'M' rating probably helps. In any case, glad to see it's garnered _some_ interest. **

**Last chapter's tittle means puzzle.**

**Thanks for reading and see you next time.**


	4. Chapter 3 - Dou

**WARNING: Cheesiness (and melodrama) will ensue. **

**[Although, to be fair, I think this story had plenty of that from the get-go. In any case, enjoy, and thanks to the people who decided to follow this story. It helps me to get off my ass and work some more on this story. :) ]**

The sound of pop music filled the mostly empty supermarket. It was a small place with five aisles filled with produce and there were a few people scattered about the store. One man in particular was contemplating whether his wife asked for jinenjo or junsai.

Kaito sighed and decided to go with jinenjo since it was more widely available. Navigating the aisles and various tables, he walked to the vegetable and fruit portion of the store, when he noticed a certain blond standing in front of one of the tables, her back facing Kaito.

She was standing in front of a table displaying bananas, looking intently at the different bunches of the yellow fruit. She had her hair down and was wearing a black, longed sleeved shirt, white pencil skirt, and black flats. Thinking the blond looked familiar, but not sure where he'd seen her before, Kaito walked over. Standing behind her, he gently tapped her right shoulder which startled the blond so much, she let out a high-pitched yelp and turned so fast to face him that the bag that had been hanging on her right elbow hit him.

"Ow!" he yelped, rubbing his side. _What the hell is in there?!_ he thought, irritatedly.

"I'm so sorry, Shion-sensei!" came the exclamation from a very familiar voice. Confused, he took a better look at the person to find that he _did_ recognize the mysterious figure.

"Kagamine-kun?" he asked incredulously. He felt ridiculous that he hadn't recognized one of his students. _Some teacher __**I **__am_, he thought.

"Yes, I am he," Len replied, a slight blush starting to show on his cheeks.

"I-I didn't recognize you," he stuttered, still surprised from the reveal. Straightening himself, he admitted, "I guess I'm so used to seeing you in a school uniform."

Len chuckled, then winked and said. "Well, I _do_ wear clothes other than short skirts and sailor tops."

Embarrassed, he replied, "So, I see. Although, I have to admit it's... surreal seeing you like this."

Len nodded in agreement and said, "Um, while I have your attention, do you know where the noodles are? If it's not a bother to you." he added, smiling sheepishly.

Gathering his wits, he nodded and requested that Len follow him. After Len stepped into place beside him, they walked toward the third aisle from the entrance of the market. It felt strange and yet so natural with Len beside him. While walking, there was a short silence between them that was filled with the last strains of music coming from the speakers. As they walked down the aisle, Len tentatively spoke, asking if he knew what the name of the song that had just finished was.

"Sorry, but I don't," he said with an apologetic grin. "I don't listen to much pop music."

"Oh?" Len replied, his face one of surprise. "You don't like that genre?"

He shrugged and said, "Kinda. I do like _some_, but I'm more into rock."

"I see..." Len trailed off.

Kaito thought he sounded contemplative, but couldn't figure out why. He decided to just ignore it and went on to ask, "I don't mean to pry, but why are _you_ getting the groceries?"

Perking up, Len replied, "Oh, I'm not alone. Rin's somewhere around here as well." To emphasis this, he stopped walking and looked around the store. Spotting Rin in front of a shelf that had different brands of sauces, he called Rin's name, waving a hand to get her attention. She seemed to notice this and walked over to where they were standing.

"Hello, Shion-sama," she said after giving a polite bow in greeting. Looking at Len, she asked if there was something he wanted to tell her.

"Nothing, really," Len said, adding, "Were you able to find some beef?"

"I did," she replied, riffling through the plastic carrier on her arm to show him the type she got.

"You were able to find Kobe?" he said, looking surprised. "I didn't think this store sold any."

"They do," she merely replied. Putting, the beef back, she said, "I also got the soba noodles okaa-san asked for."

While this exchange was going on, Kaito suddenly thought something odd about this encounter. "Forgive me for the interruption, but I still don't understand why the two of you are out shopping. Shouldn't you be studying or something?"

At this, Len seemed to falter a little, for he stared at the ground as if to gather his thoughts. This lasted no more than a few seconds though, since he lifted his head to face Kaito's and said, "Our otou-san doesn't get out of work until late and our okaa-san is busy getting the house ready for guests."

Cocking an eyebrow, he asked, "Your having a party?"

Len nodded, saying "Yes. It's a baby-shower for one of okaa-san's friends and she offered to host."

"Well, that's nice of you and your sister to help out," Kaito commented. He had thought that Len and his sister weren't very helpful. While he tried to ignore the gossip and rumors that go around the school, it was inevitable that he would eventually listen to it. He had heard the usual bits about the two being aloof, unapproachable. Recently, he'd heard about how, in the aftermath Honne's beating, Len had refused any and all sympathetic words and attempts to befriend him. He felt stupid for even listening to those rumors. From the interactions here, he thought they were quite average.

"Hey, Kaito?" asked Len suddenly, taking him out of his thoughts.

"Yes?" he replied.

"I just remembered that I have some questions to ask you about tonight's homework," Len said. "Would it be too much trouble to ask for help?"

"No, not at all!" he replied, internally cringing at the enthusiasm in his voice. "Where would you like to meet and when?"

"Oh, uh..." Len hesitated, like he was unwilling to voice his idea, "Well, I was wondering if... if..."

"If what?" he prompted.

"...If I could go over to your house." Len finished, a hopeful look in his eyes.

This made him falter. What if someone saw to the two of them walking together to his house? Possibly, not being seen again until half-an-hour or so later? What would they think? Certainly nothing pleasant. Eventually, he said, "Well, I guess." At the sight of Len's face lightening up, he added sternly, "But you're going to have to walk over by yourself."

"How come?" asked Len, looking confused.

Looking around to be sure no one was around, he leaned down to whisper in one of Len's ears, "It won't look good if I'm caught walking home with one my students at night, if you get what I mean."

Len seemed to understand and whispered back, "That's because people won't have any context behind the reason."

"While that's true," he admitted, straightening himself, "it's still not a good idea for me to be an escort."

"If you say so," Len said, sounding a bit put out. He couldn't understand why. Was walking together really that important?

However, since Len wasn't making a fuss, he decided to let it go as well. Asking what time was right for Len, they both agreed to meet at six thirty. Saying goodbye, he left Len and Rin in front of the third aisle, he walked to the cashier and paid for his produce. Walking outside and getting in his car, he belatedly realized that he had forgotten to get what Luka had asked for. What was it again? Jinenjo? Junsai? Whatever. It didn't matter. He had to head home and get ready for Len.

"It _is_ May, right?" Gakupo muttered to himself sarcastically, tugging the gray, light sweater that he was wearing to cover the back of his neck. His footsteps tapped out the tempo of his steps toward Kaito's house. Looking forward, he saw the small, light gray, two-story house, and sped up his pace. He knew Luka was out during the night, meaning he would have some privacy to talk with Kaito.

It had been six days since they had seen each other at their usual meeting place. Sure, maybe lying about not being able to meet up might have been a bad choice, but that didn't mean he _never_ wanted to see Kaito again! He just lied to test him, keep the relationship interesting.

Sighing, he walked past the discolored fence and towards the front door when he stopped in surprise. Standing in front of the door was a teenage girl wearing an oversized, dark purple, saggy turtle-neck sweater with skinny jeans. As if that wasn't enough, the girl had a large purse slung over her shoulder and red pumps on her feet. _What is this?_ he thought, _Don't tell me he's–!_

_No. He wouldn't_, Gakupo thought. It was a ridiculous idea. Pushing the thought, aside he called a greeting to the girl. Startled, she turned around.

"Are you a friend of Shion-san's?" he asked, waking closer to her to get a better look. Once he was a few feet in front of her, he noticed a thin film of make-up covering her face. _Well, __**that**__ looks promising_, he thought sarcastically.

The girl faced him and he felt as though her blue-eyes were piercing his soul."No, I'm a student," the girl said. Now that she had spoken, he couldn't help, but question the students sex.

"Um, excuse me, but are you male or female?" he asked, feeling a bit awkward.

"I'm male," the student replied.

_Wait_, he thought to himself, _didn't Kaito mention something about a crossdressing student the last time we met? _Thinking back, he remembered that he _had_ and had said the name of the crossdesser in question.

"You're Kagamine Len, correct?" he guessed.

"I am he," Len affirmed, staring into Gakupo's violet eyes. "Why do you want to know?"

"What, I can't ask something simple like that?" he said with a smirk.

"No," said Len, his eyes narrowing from suspicion. "I said nothing like that,"

"Oh? Well, you certainly implied it," he said. He couldn't figure out why, but the kid had an odd air around him. Even though the kid hadn't said, or done, anything to make him worry, just the way he carried himself and the way he spoke drove a tiny shiver up his spine. _What the hell is wrong with me?_ he thought, berating himself. _I've met the worst humanity has to offer and didn't flinch, but a wispy, fourteen-old, girly-boy is making me feel intimated? _

Thinking he needed to regain his ground and dignity, he drew himself up to his full height and said, "Never mind. Why are _you_ here?"

"That's nothing for you to worry about," came the cold reply, Len also trying to make himself seem taller. Not that it worked at all, since there was, at most, a full foot difference between them, but what he lacked in size, he made up for in confidence.

_This kid's starting to rub me the wrong way_, Gakupo thought, starting to feel annoyed. "By saying that, you make it sound like _I should_ worry," he pointed out, crossing his arms and looking down his nose at the blond.

"Forget what I said, then," Len said dismissively, turning to face the door. He pressed the doorbell, which gave off a musical chime.

"Whatever," Gakupo said. After thinking over the situation, he slyly added, "I hope you realize that Shion-san likes manly-men, not girly-boys like you, right?"

He smirked as he saw the kid flinch, and prepared himself for a temper-tantrum. Instead, Len turned around, an innocent look on his face and in his tone when he asked, "How do you know? Were you both an item?"

Instantly angered, Gakupo opened his mouth to give the brat a scathing retort, but was interrupted by the front door opening, revealing Kaito, his hair damp and wearing a simple t-shirt-with-jeans outfit.

"Sorry for the wait, Kagamine-kun," he said to Len.

"'Kun?'" repeated Gakupo, trying to figure out why he would use a term of endearment for one of his students.

"Kamui-san?" Kaito asked with a questioning glance at seeing the purple-haired man. "Is there something that you wanted?"

"Absolutely," he said, turning to the man. "Why, exactly, are you seeing one of your students?!"

Kaito blinked, then understanding seemed to dawn on his face. "Oh, no, it's not like that!" he said hurriedly, waving a hand like one would a fly. "Kagamine-kun just needed some help with his homework, is all." Meanwhile, Gakupo couldn't help but notice a smug smile spreading on the brat's face that Kaito couldn't see.

_Homework, my ass!_ Gakupo snapped in his head. Masking his growing irritation, he merely asked sardonically, "Oh really? Then why is the student in question dressed up like the two of you are going to go out for a ride on the town?!"

At this, Len faced Gakupo and replied indignantly, "I'll wear what I like and apparently you've forgotten that I'm standing right here!"

"Look, Kagamine-kun," Kaito said, stepping outside to put himself between Len and Gakupo. The tension was starting to grow tight and he wanted to diffuse the situation before a more harmful one arose. Addressing Len, he said, "Why don't you go ahead into the study. It's down the hall on your right."

He took Kaito's advice and walked inside, shutting the door behind him. Turning to Gakupo, Kaito was about to speak, only to be cut off by the man.

"What are you doing?!" he exclaimed.

"Exactly what I said," Kaito replied calmly, arms crossed and his back against the door, an unamused expression on his face.

"What, 'study'?" he scoffed, making airquotes when he said "study." "You expect me to believe that when it looked like you two were going to go out on a date!"

"Well, when we agreed to this, it did _kinda _sound like we were making one. Maybe he misunderstood," Kaito said, feeling embarrassed having to admit it. Unfortunately, that was what it had sounded like. Although, considering the boy seemed to be in his own little world at times, that explanation was more then likely.

"Kaito-kun, you better _not_ be turning into one of my former clients," he said, feeling disturbed.

"I'm not an ephebophile, Kamui-san," Kaito snapped, looking annoyed. Deciding he better change the subject, he asked irritatedly, "Look, why are you here?"

"I'm here to talk to you about the fact that we haven't had our usual get together in six days," he said, reluctantly following Kaito's lead. "I'm starting to worry. Although, you look like your enjoying yourself," he added bitterly.

"I've been busy, Gakupo-san," Kaito retorted. "With summer vacation coming up, I've been thinking up tests and summer homework for them to work on. Which, by the way, takes up most of my time."

"That's more than a month away, Kaito!" he cried, getting impatient. How many times have they been over this? "You can relax in the meantime."

"I would, _if_, in the meantime, I wasn't busy grading and thinking up ideas for current homework," Kaito said, his impatience becoming clearer with each word.

Gakupo sighed and said, "You're too uptight."

"And you're too easy-going," Kaito countered. "I can't believe you're still a lawyer."

He started to respond, but was quickly interrupted by Kaito who raised a hand and said, "That's enough, Gakupo-san. I promise that I'll see you tomorrow. I'll be at our usual place."

With that, he opened the door, walked inside, and shut it, leaving Gakupo to glare angrily at the closed door.

_What's __**wrong**__ with him?!_ Kaito thought, walking down the short hall and turning right at the end. He saw that the door to his study was open and a lamp turned on. Stepping inside and shutting the door behind him, he saw that Len had removed the make-up he had been wearing and had already set himself at Kaito's writing desk, materials already out and ready to use. Grabbing another chair, he sat himself next to Len and apologized for Gakupo's behavior.

"That's alright," Len said, giving an understanding smile. "He does seem a little... possessive, though."

"In a way, he is," he agreed, sighing and resting his head on his right hand, the elbow on the desk.

Len situated himself so he was facing Kaito better before asking, "How come? Are you two dating?"

"No," he said, a bit too hastily, causing Len to cock an eyebrow in question.

He then commented, "Personally, it seems like you are."

"Really?" Kaito replied, raising his head a little.

"Oh, yes," Len said, nodding as though he completely understood the situation. "I get the feeling that you two have some unresolved sexual tension."

Kaito could only respond with a confused and small "uh-huh", his face starting to feel warm. Was that _really_ the case? Was their past attraction resurfacing? He had thought they had both buried that after–

_No!_ he thought, stopping himself from going down that road. _Don't think about it. It won't do you any good._

A couple of seconds had passed while Kaito was regaining his thoughts. After Len was sure he had regained his composure, he gently asked, "Is my assumption correct?"

"Well, we used to be boyfriends..." he started, but couldn't bring himself to continue. Instead he quickly said, "But that's in the past. Besides, what we're really here for, is for you too ask me anything that you've been having trouble with." He moved his attention to the pages of work placed on the desk and was relieved when Len humored him by following suit.

The two worked on, talking over various problems and answers. Soon, they forgot about the earlier mishap and had started teasing each other; Len teased him about his apparent inability to understand obscure concepts and he teased Len about his troubles with complicated word problems. This continued for about twenty minutes or so and they were almost finished with the task, when he noticed something odd about Len's appearance.

"Are you all right, Kagamine-kun?" he asked, concern in his voice. "You're cheeks are very red."

"I'm alright... Shion-sensei," Len replied, his voice disconcertingly small. Suddenly, his eyes closed and he slumped over, his head hitting the desk with a muffled thump.

"Kagamine-kun!" Kaito exclaimed in alarm. Gently shaking Len's frame, he repeated the boy's name several times and, finding that unsuccessful, hurriedly ran into the bathroom next to the study, grabbed a washcloth, and ran it underwater. Wringing out the excess water, he ran back into the study and got Len into a sitting position before roughly taking off the boy's sweater. Leaning him back, he put the washcloth on the boy's forehead.

Dabbing the damp cloth around the boy's face, he couldn't help but notice the flushed, almost aroused look, on the boy's face and the slender torso. Shaking his head to get of rid of the thoughts, he said Len's name one more time. Fortunately, this seemed to finally get a reaction out of him, for Len returned the call with a weak "Shion-sensei" before his eyes fluttered open. He stretched then, almost as though he was waking after being asleep, his skin sliding over his ribs.

"What happened?" asked Kaito, trying to keep his earlier panic out of his voice.

"I think I got overheated and– and passed out," Len admitted, embarrassment clear in his tone. Taking one of the boy's hands in his own, Kaito gently pointed out that if the problem was that he didn't have a t-shirt, he could have lent him one of his own.

Len nodded in acknowledgment. "I– I realize that now. I'm sorry." he murmured apologetically, giving a small bow to accentuate his admission.

"Don't be," Kaito said with a smile, hoping that Len would see he bore no ill will. Veering the subject in a different direction and realizing he was holding one of his students hands, he hurriedly removed his hand and asked, "Do you feel better?"

Len gave an infinitesimal nod, like he was preoccupied and not really listening. One of his hands moved up and down one arm and he looked contemplative. However, he gave no indication that he was going to speak up anytime soon, so Kaito asked if there was something else he wanted to say.

"Well, yes," Len said, stilling his movement, and adding, "But it's not about the homework."

Confused, he asked, "So, what is it?"

Nothing could have prepared him for what Len said next.

"I–," Len started, before gathering together his courage and blurting out, "I love you, Shion-sama!"

"Ah–! Ka–Kagamine-kun! I–" he exclaimed, feeling like he had just been hit in the stomach. Trying again, he said, "I'm flattered, but you know I can't return your affections—"

"Affections!?" cried Len, looking offended. Leaning in his chair, hands clasped together, he continued, saying "This isn't just a crush, Shion-sama!"

"'Sensei'," he corrected, a bit too quickly. "And you're still young. I don't think you really understand what love is."

Len opened his mouth, as though he was going to protest, but seemed to think better of it. Looking crestfallen, he muttered, "You're probably right. Sorry, I overreacted."

There was a thick, uncomfortable pause, silence ringing in their ears. Eventually, Kaito hesitantly asked if Len wanted to discuss anything else, to which he just shook his head. Retrieving his sweater, he hurriedly gathered together his things. Then, they both walked down the stairs and to the front door. Kaito opened it and Len walked out, bowing and saying "thank you" before he left. As he straightened himself, Kaito thought he saw tears being shed before Len hurriedly ran to the sidewalk and into the night. All Kaito could do was stand there, feeling guilty for his own overreaction. Staring for a few more moments, he finally remembered what Len had stirred in him and why, ultimately, he was also hurt from the rejection.

Love.

**A/N: Cheesiness is cheesy. -_-' Sorry to those who hate that kind of stuff. **

**I've forgotten to mention the past couple of chapters that this fic is my own (dramatized) interpretation of the song IMITATION BLACK, sung by Kagamine Len, Kamui Gakupo, and KAITO, with music and lyrics by natsu-P. The video that I found with English subs in it was loud, so if you tend to leave your music on high and/or have sensitive hearing, I suggest turning the volume down a few notches before seeking it out. **

**Last chapter's title was called "Surprise". **


	5. Chapter 4 - Atarashī Shiten Kara

**WARNING: Unexpected viewpoint is unexpected.**

_Where could he be?_ Furuda Tsugumi asked herself, pulling on a strand of her dirty-blonde hair in frustration. She had looked everywhere for Kagamine-san and there was still no sign to be found. Hunched over in defeat, she was about to give up when an idea came to her. Pulling her shoulders back and picking up her pace, she walked fast towards one of the unused classrooms near the back of the school. Seeing the door ajar to one such room, she heard the faint sound of chatter and laughter. Smiling, she stopped in front of the door and took a few deep breathes to calm her pounding heart. _I really need to participate in gym more_, she thought to herself.

She opened the door and saw untouched chairs in their rows. Weaving her way through them, she walked towards the group of tables that had been pushed together to create a make-shift table while her friends had lunch. Their bento boxes were side by side and each of them helped themselves to some of the others food. She would have joined in, but unfortunately she had been busy doing research for an upcoming paper. She disliked missing out spending time with her friends, but sometimes it had to be done.

One of her friends, a green-haired and green-eyed boy by the name of Junimado Yuki, joked, "Nice to see you again, Tsugumi-chan. What made you want to grace us with your presence?"

Smiling, she asked him if he had seen Kagamine-san anywhere.

His earlier good humor turned sour as he grumbled, "No. Not that I'd want to."

"Yuki-chan," said the blueish-black haired and green eyed girl sitting next to him, giving an exasperated sigh. Looking at him with piercing green eyes, Yumi continued, "The poor guy has had enough trouble. Can't you give him a break?"

"Only until he gets off his high horse," he replied, biting into an onigiri roughly, as if to say this discussion was over.

"So, when pigs fly, basically," Gunichi Tohru, a tar-black haired boy with brown eyes, interjected while helping himself to some shrimp tempura. Yumi seemed to decide that arguing with them wasn't worth it, for she only grumbled a scornful "unbelievable", before returning to the meal.

Alice French, a brunette with dark gray eyes who had been busy eating, spoke up, "I think Kagamine-san might be in the library."

"I already checked and he wasn't there," Tsugumi said, slowly growing impatient. She had checked the gym, homeroom, other classrooms, but it had all been for not. Either, he was really good at hiding or she wasn't very observant.

"Maybe he's there now," Yumi offered.

"He's not a statue, after all," Tohru said with a playful smile.

"It would be better for everyone if he was," muttered Yuki, irritatedly.

"Yuki-nii!" exclaimed Yumi, surprise clearly evident on her face.

"What?! Can't I hate someone who inadvertently got you hurt!?" he snapped, while Tohru murmured a barely audible "here we go again".

"'Inadvertently' being the keyword here," Alice countered.

"And apparently you've forgotten that it was _my_ decision to try to help Kagamine-san," Yumi pointed out, sounding scornful.

"Well, whatever made Honne-san go crazy was probably his fault since he went after Kagamine-san," Yuki said with an air of finality.

Tsugumi gave a sad sigh. How many times had she heard this argument? While it was touching that Yuki was concerned for his sister, the fact that he had convinced himself that _Kagamine-san_ was to be blamed made her sad. Everything about that incident, from the actual act to the aftermath, was mysterious and foggy. To make matters worse, no matter how many times she tried to comfort him, he would always ignore her, eventually telling her to go away. She just didn't understand him and he wasn't making _understanding_ him any easier.

Finishing her meal, Alice stood up and said to Tsugumi, "I'll help you find him. Besides, I'm tired of hearing this conversation. Got old a _long_ time ago."

Tsugumi nodded in agreement and thanked her for her offer of help. Walking out into the hallway and towards the library, they passed the time by talking about the next class they each had after lunch. Soon, they arrived at their destination and walked in. Tall columns of book shelves greeted them, as did the school's librarian, who was typing on the computer atop her desk. Splitting up, they searched the small room. It wasn't long before Alice found him in the fiction section and quietly called out to Tsugumi. Hearing this, she hurried over and they both approached the mysterious teen. He was currently scanning a book as if deciding whether to read it or not.

"Kagamine-san?" Tsugumi said. He made no indication that he heard her. _Why do I think I can get a reaction out of him?_ she thought, sadness filling her. _I should be used to this by now._

"Yo, space cadet!" Alice said, her voice sounding very loud in the silent room. Tsugumi thought she heard a muted "Hush!" from the front of the room.

Len looked up from his scanning and stared at them while asking curtly, "What do you want?"

Tsugumi was a little taken aback at his tone. Taking a step forward, she said, "I-It's not what I want, it's what Shion-sensei wants."

For once, she seemed to get his attention for he asked in a kinder tone, "And what would that be?"

Surprised that he was actually listening, she said. "I'm not sure. All he said is that he wanted to talk to you about something."

"I see," he said, sounding preoccupied. Snapping the book he was holding shut, he walked up to her, looked into her navy-blue eyes and asked, "Where is he?"

Tsugumi felt her face grow hot. This was the closest she ever got to him and looking directly into his eyes always took her breath away. Realizing she had spent the last few seconds being entranced by him, she finally stuttered out, "I-I-I think he said th-that he would be in the classroom."

"Ah," was the only reply. Shoving the book at Tsugumi who hurriedly grabbed it, he said, "Hold this for me" before pushing aside Alice and walking out of the library. Tsugumi's earlier sadness returned as she turned around to face Alice, who was currently muttering "High-and-mighty as always" in an indignant tone. Tsugumi just sighed in response. Alice looked at her with concern and asked her what was on her mind.

"Nothing," Tsugumi replied, not looking her. She wished she knew what was going on in his head to make him act the way he did. _Why does he __want__ to be friendless?_ she thought. _Rin-chan was able to make friends after a while. Why couldn't he do the same? _

_How can __anyone__ go friendless?_

"It doesn't seem like nothing," Alice commented, eyes peering out of her maroon glasses to scrutinize her friend. "What was that forlorn sigh for then?"

Tsugumi hesitated before tentatively saying, "You're going to think of me as crazy-"

"Like I already don't?" interrupted Alice, her tone playful.

Tsugumi smiled and continued her statement with, "It's just... I think there might be a reason as to _why_ Kagaime-san acts the way he does."

This seemed to catch Alice off guard, for she blinked a few times in astonishment then said in an astounded tone, "Does he _need_ a reason for being an asshat?"

"Alice-chan..." Tsugumi started to say, but faltered. She wanted to criticize her for her bluntness, but couldn't find it in herself to contradict her statement.

"Tsugumi-chan!" Alice shot back in a mocking tone, before sighing and saying, "I don't understand why you're trying to excuse his uptight attitude."

At this, Tsugumi blushed harder and stuttered out "W-Well, um..." before looking down at the bland green rug beneath her feet. It took a few moments before Alice understood her friend's bashfulness, and the same time that she did, a devilish grin spread across her face.

She wrapped an arm around Tsugumi's shoulders and said, "You sure know how to pick 'em, Raburabu-chan."

"I thought I told you to stop calling me that," Tsugumi said, trying and failing to sound annoyed.

"Really? I don't recall," Alice said dismissively. Letting go of Tsugumi, she walked a bit to the entrance of the library when she turned around and said, "Anyway, we should head back. I think lunchtime's almost over."

"You go on ahead," Tsugumi said, perking up. "I still need to finish up my research."

"Alright. See you later, then" Alice said smiling. She gave a small wave and walked out of the room.

Suddenly curious about Len's taste in books, she took this opportunity and looked at the front of the book he had handed her. "'Mysterious Skin'?" she muttered. "What kind of title is that?"

The sound of a pen tapping a desk filled the mostly empty room. Kaito grabbed his right hand with the other, trying to stop the sound. Why was he so nervous? Sighing, he put the pen down and ran a hand through his hair, closing his eyes to focus on regaining his composure. After doing so, he opened them again to see Len standing in front of him. He felt as though his heart leaped into his throat.

"Ahhaha, Kagamine-kun, hi!" he said, finishing with a small laugh. _How did I not hear him walk in?_ he thought, trying to calm himself.

"Sorry for startling you. The door was already open." said Len, who had an apologetic smile on his face. It seemed to he that he had read his mind.

"Ah, well. That explains it," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, still feeling startled.

Len just nodded and asked, "You wanted to talk to me?"

"I did," he replied. Suddenly, he realized that Len was still standing and he had forgotten his manners. He hastily added, "Why don't you pull up a chair?"

"Will this take long?" Len inquired, cocking his head to the side.

"Um, no. It shouldn't," he said, feeling perplexed. Deciding to get right to the point, he blurted out, "I wanted to apologize for last night."

He had expected Len to become all flustered and stutter out an apology of his own, but instead, the blond gave an embarrassed chuckle before saying, "Yeah, sorry about that. I guess I got caught up in the moment."

"It _was_ rather..." he started, but stopped himself before he could say "charged".

Apparently, Len guessed what he was going to say since he didn't ask him to clarify. Instead, he said, "I just wanted to let you know how I felt and since we were already in a place where no one could overhear, I figured I might as well take the opportunity."

"I see," he said, nodding in sympathy. Remembering the other reason why he asked Len here, he said, "On a different note, I noticed that we hadn't finished looking through that homework. Although it's too late to do so now," he added, sheepishly.

"That's alright," Len said, waving a hand like he was swatting a fly. "I was able to finish it anyway."

"Glad to hear it," he said, smiling in relief. A few minutes after Len had made his hasty leave, the thought that they had neglected the rest of the task had bugged him for the rest of the night. He then said, "Would you like to hand it in early?"

"I would like to, but my schoolbag is in the library," said Len, showing him his empty hands.

"In that case, you can wait until later," Kaito said, feeling stupid for not noticing.

"Sure thing," Len replied. Looking down, he started to scrutinize his clothes as if looking for a stain or something similar, before returning his eyes to Kaito and saying, "Um, is there something wrong with my appearance?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to stare," Kaito said, suddenly realizing that he had been staring at Len since he had walked in. "It's just, I've noticed that you're a lot more relaxed today."

"Really?" asked Len, raising an eyebrow. "I hadn't noticed." Just then, the school's bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch period. Len said goodbye, gave a short bow, then started to run back to the library.

Kaito stared after the retreating figure. This was the first time he had had a conversation with Len in which the teen hadn't stuttered or blushed profusely. Resting his head on his hands, he was glad that Len was becoming more comfortable at this school. Smiling, he thought that he like this new Len and wondered what he had in store.

**A/N: Before I get into the meat of my notes, I would like to point out that **_**Mysterious Skin**__**is **_**in fact an actual book. It was written by ****Scott Heim**** and was first published in 1995 and was eventually turned into a movie of the same name. That came out in 2004. **

**I'm going to be honest and say I've only read a synopsis and some reviews for the book, but haven't actually **_**read**_** the book. I know, I know, bad form. Not gonna lie there. **

**In any case, I'm surprised that Tsugumi and her friends are becoming more intergreal with the story. At first, I was only going to focus on Kaito, Len, and sometimes Gakupo with a sprinkling of Rin. (Sounds like a recipe.) The more that I think about it, though, giving the other characters some focus would give us some more insight on Len and Rin's school life and how other characters perceive them.**

**Last chapters title was "Confusion".**


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